Toyota Land Cruiser vs Dacia Duster off road: can the £24k David beat the £75K Goliath?

When talking about iconic off-roaders, one of the first cars which comes to mind is probably the Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s pretty much unstoppable when the going gets tough, but the latest one to come to the UK is rather expensive.

It starts from £75,000, making it a hefty £15,000 more than a Land Rover Defender 110. The question is, can you get similar levels of off-road performance for a lot less cash?

Three times less to be specific. We’re going to pit the new Land Cruiser against the Dacia Duster four-wheel drive. That car costs just £24,000. Let’s take a closer look at the stats.

New Toyota Land Cruiser

Your £75,000 gets you a 2.7-litre turbocharged diesel engine with 205hp and 500Nm of torque. This is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and this being a serious off-roader it has locking rear and centre differentials.

The Land Cruiser is a rather heavy beast though, tipping the scales at 2,335kg. The car we have here is on the standard all-terrain tyres which are fitted as standard.

Dacia Duster four-wheel drive

On paper, the Dacia Duster has its work cut out. It has a 1.2-litre petrol engine with 130hp and 230Nm of torque, which is paired to a six-speed manual gearbox. There are no looking differentials here, just an off-road mode which manages the traction control in tricky conditions.

One thing the Duster has on its side though is weight, because it’s almost a full tonne lighter than the Toyota at 1,390kg. The Land Cruiser is also three times more expensive, but is it three times better?

How are we testing them?

To find out how the Duster stacks up against the mighty Land Cruiser, we’re going to put both cars through a series of tests at our dedicated off-road course. The winner of each challenge gets two points, the loser gets one and if a car doesn’t complete the test, it gets zero.

The tests include a drag race up a slippery slope, a time trial through a narrow track and some uphill crawls to test grip and chassis articulation. It’s going to be a good one, so check out the video to find out if the Duster can hold its own.

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